The Art Of Ditko

Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is an art book tracing Ditko's life and career, his unparalleled stylistic innovations, his strict adherence to his own (and Randian) principles, with lush displays of obscure and popular art from the thousands of pages of comics he's drawn over the last 55 years.

"Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spiderman and Dr. Strange, remains an enigma, though this book draws us closer to the artist and gives us a better understanding of his amazing work. Introducing the very best of rare and striking Steve Ditko comic book stories and original art, this large format beautifully showcases Ditko's work, with many reproductions of original art pieces by the master comic book artist. -

Features the artist's style through a collection of comics drawn during his time with Carlton Comics between the '50s and '70s, and essays that pay homage to him and his work.

Steve Ditko's astounding career is presented here from the early 1950s to the present. Examples of his work for Charlton, Warren, Marvel and DC are shown, both as printed pages and scans from Ditko's beautiful original art! This is a Museum catalogue that will accompany a massive exhibition of this hugely influential artist's work (Ditko co-created Spider-Man and Dr. Strange) in Palma de Mallorca Spain in the Fall of 2016. By the same Eisner Award-nominated team who have created the gold-standard for museum catalogues and exhibits of classic comic artists, previous books in the series include: Woodwork: Wallace Wood 1927-1981, Flesh & Steel: The Art of Russ Heath, and Big John Buscema: Comics & Drawings.

As the battle between the Guardian and Renegade GoBots moves to Earth, each side establishes contact with a human ally.

Before Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, the legendary comic book artist Steve Ditko was conjuring all manners of horrors at his drawing table. In his first two years in the industry (1953 and 1954), Ditko drew tales of macabre suspense that were not yet hobbled by the imminent Comics Code Authority (adopted in October 1954). These stories featured graphic bloodshed, dismemberment and blood-curdling acid baths as the ugly end to the lives of the dark and twisted inhabitants of Steve Ditko’s imagination. Strange Suspense features spectacular full-color reprints of every story from those first two years of his career.

Carmine Infantino. Steve Ditko. Jack Kirby. Gil Kane. Joe Kubert. Gene Colan. Jim Steranko. Neal Adams. Some of the greatest comic book artists of their generation, who created some of their greatest work during The Silver Age of Comics (circa1956-1970). They not only drew definitive versions of the medium’s greatest characters including The Flash, Batman, Captain America, Superman, Thor, Green Lantern, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Green Arrow and more— but set trends in the art of comic book storytelling. Now this popular and influential body of work, along with each artist’s thoughts, ideas and commentary, is presented in The Silver Age of Comic Book Art, a coffee table comic book art history book written and designed in a daringly different format by comic book historian and illustrator Arlen Schumer, and published in hardcover and digital/e-book editions by Archway Publishing (from Simon & Schuster). Dynamic spreads of the actual printed comic art, graphically enlarged, are integrated with comic-styled text, often by the artists themselves, that replaces the original comic book copy with more personalized prose that places the art firmly in the period it was created: the turbulent 1960s. By creating a comic book history book that reads like a comic book, Schumer succeeds spectacularly in making you see, as if for the first time, the comics you’ve been reading your whole life. “Arlen Schumer documents an important period in comic book history, told with an explosive format and stunning design. It reflects the kinetic rhythm of the era.” — Will Eisner (1917-2005), creator of The Spirit and the graphic novel A Contract with God "Through the years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many books that pay tribute to the art of comics, but Arlen Schumer has created an entirely new format in presenting the art and words of the artists. It's the most comprehensive and personal way a fan or colleague can learn what lies beneath the art. Arlen has found the perfect way to inform and entertain. It’s simply awesome —and the best representation of my work ever!” —Gene Colan (1926-2011), legendary comic book artist “A lovingly crafted tribute to the superhero comic of the 1960s, The Silver Age of Comic Book Art recaptures the four-color visionary surge of the era, its jet-age psychedelic rush of imagination and the titanic, luminous figures, both real and imaginary, that glittered in its firmament. For a brief moment in the late 20th century, it seemed as if the spirit of the age wore a vivid leotard, a chest emblem, and traveled in a strobing blur of speed lines. For anyone with any interest in or affection for that moment, this beautiful volume is indispensible.” — Alan Moore, author of Swamp Thing and Watchmen For more on The Silver Age of Comic Book Book Art, join Arlen’s Facebook group of the same name, and visit Arlen’s website: www.arlenschumer.com

Steve Ditko (1927–2018) is one of the most important contributors to American comic books. As the cocreator of Spider-Man and sole creator of Doctor Strange, Ditko made an indelible mark on American popular culture. Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity resets the conversation about his heady and powerful work. Always inward facing, Ditko’s narratives employed superhero and supernatural fantasy in the service of self-examination, and with characters like the Question, Mr. A, and Static, Ditko turned ordinary superhero comics into philosophic treatises. Many of Ditko’s philosophy-driven comics show a clear debt to ideas found in Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Unfortunately, readers often reduce Ditko’s work to a mouthpiece for Rand’s vision. Mysterious Travelers unsettles this notion. In this book, Zack Kruse argues that Ditko’s philosophy draws on a complicated network of ideas that is best understood as mystic liberalism. Although Ditko is not the originator of mystic liberalism, his comics provide a unique window into how such an ideology operates in popular media. Examining selections of Ditko’s output from 1953 to 1986, Kruse demonstrates how Ditko’s comics provide insight into a unique strand of American thought that has had a lasting impact.

Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #11 and Annual #3; Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #96-98 and Annual #5; Daredevil (1964) #7 and #47; Silver Surfer (1968) #5; Thor (1966) #179-181; Marvel Premiere #3 and material from Captain America Comics #3 and #16, Suspense #28, Amazing Adult Fantasy #11, Amazing Fantasy (1962) #15 and Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special. Celebrate the career of a true Marvel Visionary! In the days before World War II, a teenager named Stanley Lieber ran errands in the Timely Comics offices. Soon, “Stan Lee” published his first story — and before long, he was running the show! In the 1960s, Lee and Jack Kirby transformed super hero comics with the Fantastic Four — whose success sparked a line of smash hits that created the Marvel Universe! Presented here are some of the greatest stories written by “The Man,” from rarely seen tales from Lee’s earliest days to unforgettable adventures starring his most iconic co-creations with Kirby, Steve Ditko and others — including the FF, Spider-Man, Thor, Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange and Daredevil!